Lawsuit filed in connection with Hardin County crash

A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed after a fiery crash in Hardin County killed six people.

The crash happened in March on Interstate 65 near Glendale, Ky.

Attorneys said the crash should never have happened.

About 11:15 a.m. on March 2, a tractor-trailer rear ended an SUV carrying a group from Wisconsin on their way home from Florida.

"(The crash) trapped six people in the car and the vehicle burst into flames. Six people were tragically killed, two injured," said Ron Hillerich, an attorney for the family.

Among the dead were James and Barbara Gollnow, their 18-year-old daughter, Serena, and their friend, Marion Champnoise.

Also in the vehicle were the couple's four young foster children, only two survived.

"The Gollnows, James and Barbara, were on their second family and they started their second family by taking care of foster children," said family attorney Tad Thomas. "So they were saints by any stretch of the imagination, which makes this all the more tragic."

But the crash could have been prevented, according to Thomas and Hillerich, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the four adults killed.

The suit names the driver of the semi, Ibrahim Fetic, and claims a federal investigation showed he had driven his truck more than the allowed number of hours.

"You can't drive over 70 hours in an eight-day period. They found this driver had actually driven 88 hours and was 18 hours over the maximum, which may have led to driver fatigue and him not actually seeing our client slow down on the northbound lane of I-65," said Hillerich.

The suit also names the Michigan-based trucking company Fetic worked for, Highway Star, and claims it was negligent in hiring, training and supervising him.

"The trucking company has a duty to audit his log books as well. They must have been asleep at the switch, no pun intended, as well," said Hillerich.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages and a trial by jury.

Last month, the Department of Transportation ordered Highway Star to immediately cease operations.

The agency said the company failed to ensure its drivers complied with federal regulations.

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